The moon's shadow
by Vipre-vassago
Summary: The moon is brings brightness to an otherwise desolate night. It's rays give a path to those who know it, and the moon itself can even bring cheer. As a person the moon would be soft spoken, but bright and cheery at times as well. To one who has taken this mantal, a harsh life follows. Summary sucks Previously known as Dark moons princess. Read and Review please.
1. 1: A new beginning

**Ok, for those of you just turning to this story, this is the first chapter of this story! For those of you already followed to this, this is the revised version of this chapter. The chapters will be a bit shorter then they were before, but this is becuase I want to leave more open for future chapters. I hope this won't make to many people angry. There is still a lot that I want to put in, so that is part of the reason. Deadly animals are cute, and your sisters as well, I hope your reading this chapter instead of number three! This is becuase there is somthing in chapter three I want to surprise you by, and it will be ruined if you read that first.**

 **Moving on, I hope this chapter is good, as it does get a bit dark in this. I'm using real historical facts from the sengoku era of the samurai periods in Japan. That is a big part of what there is going to be a lot of darkness in this chapter. I don't have anything else to say, so I hope this time I won't have to revise the chapters once again.**

* * *

 _I do not own bleach or any of its characters. All, but a few, OC's are completely mine and I give all rights to the owners of all characters._

* * *

Death was an interesting concept. What happened after you died? Did you go on to Sonora of purgatory where you would life forever in a dull environment? Did you go to a hellish and fiery wasteland like the word of preachers stated if you were bad, and paradise-like place if you were good? Or was the next step in life life once again? It was something that always fascinated Nikkou. Unfortunately, in life, she was far to shy to do anything about it exploration wise. Being a young girl, and not to mention short compared to everyone around her at little more then 3'3 for being close to seven years old, the girl did what she could as to not upset those around her.

She had been a sickly child, and considering the times, it was impudent that she learn how to bow respectfully. The way she was forced to sit when someone came to the house furthered this. Straight back, and completely still. One wrong movement during the practice, and Nikkou would be on the floor in pain, being forced to sit back up and continue to sit straight until she got it, or she passed out.

Unfortunately it was the latter more often then the former.

The biggest fear for the small girl were the Samurai. They watched everyone and everything like a hawk when they passed by. Her mother, on more then one occasion, had forced her into a bow when they passed, though she did it on her own at times as well. She had been told what they would do to her, a child even, if she didn't bow. The girl was smart for her age, considering she read a lot trying to find answers for herself and all. The samurai would most surly kill her if she made a wrong move.

As such, Nikkou lived a full life with what stipulations she had upon her. The local library, if you could call it that, was her place of residence most of the time when she was not at home, though the girl had heard something involving an 'Arranged marriage'. It wasn't uncommon, but the fact of the matter was that her family, while their last name was of importance, were in the bottom end of whatever hierarchy the country had.

The Nakatomi family was all but gone, that much had been told to her, and at was why they were so low on the food chain, so to speak. With their power all but destroyed, the remaining members of the family were forced to do things they didn't really like, but learned to live with. Some of Nikkou's cousins became 'Working girls' and that was far as she would go with that. The men of the family became farmers, though there weren't that many who did. The rest went into the army for the emperor. They country hadn't been at war for a long time, but even still, that was where they went.

Nikkou's own mother was a Gesha, and she was forced to stay in the back of the house most of the time when she was there as to make sure that she didn't get in the way. Even still, the girl did what she was asked, and in return she could go to the library whenever she wanted to read. It was a simple trade, but even then, it wasn't always the best thing that could have been done.

Walking outside of her home, Nikkou breathed in the fresh air with a small smile. The small girl, while only seven at most age wise, had black hair that reached her waist in length, with innocent green eyes that seemed to glow against the black tresses. Her face was slightly rounded, mostly attributed to the baby fat she still had, but there were obvious signs of a more angular chin forming as well. Her skin was pale, but not unhealthy pale. It seemed her skin favored the moon more then the sun with the tone and how fair it was, something she gained from her mother.

The black hair that framed the girls face, covered a majority of it, but it showed her face just as well. To add to the lack of attention the girl normal caused, however, was the dirty brown kimono she was wearing. It wasn't anywhere near fancy like one would expect of noble descent, and it suited Nikkou just fine. She didn't like the looks of those stiff and restricting kimono noble's wore all the time anyway.

There was also the fact that a noblewoman tried to kick her down the last time she passed by one of them of course. She really didn't like older people. She was a child, and she could be childish if she wanted to. The customs of a peasant suited her more then the expectations of a noble her mother tried to force.

Getting rid of those thoughts for now, the small girl padded her way up the street heading for the library once again. There was just so many scrolls she wished to didn't understand a lot of the concepts that were made in them, but the pictures they painted in her mind when she did understand the text was enough for her. A lot of the things in there were of historical text, but there were a few stories in there as well, though those were few and between.

The girl let out a small 'Oof' when she felt herself run into something. Her head hurt as well, but she took enough time to look up and seeing a glaring man, before she found herself backing up in fear. Unfortunately for her, the man in front of her was a samurai. The fact of the matter though, was that this particular one was the 'Swing first' type, so it didn't take long for a flash of silver to be seen in the corner of her eye, before black took of her vision.

For a second she just floated there, not feeling or seeing anything, until she blinked a few times and saw that she was inside of the library. Frowning in confusion, Nikkou looked around where she was a bit more, before she walked further into the store as to try and find something to read, the whole she didn't notice the chain that was coming from her chest.

The library was empty save for a few people, but it didn't really matter in this case. The silence was normal, but the lack of people was actually comforting. Bring in crowds never helped, and considering the fact that she had thought she died? Being around people definitely wasn't at the forefront of her mind.

The first scroll she ended up grabbing was one that she had wanted to read today. It was a book full of philosophies, and ideas. A lot of them were of ideas of peace and tranquility that, if she was honest, interested her more then anything. She knew she would end up having to fight someone eventually over one thing or another, but in general, she didn't want to harm anyone unless absolutely necessary.

A sigh escaped the girl as she closed the scroll a bit later. There really wasn't much else she had wanted to do today except for reading, but now that she had finished reading what she wanted, the feeling of tiredness was what she first realized. The lack of hunger though, was a different matter.

She had stayed in the library for what had to have been hours, but she wasn't hungry. She was tired, but not hungry. If she were to give a description to how she felt, she felt like she could curl up on the floor and just close her eyes. It wasn't strong enough to force her into doing it, but it was enough to make her eyes droop a little as she walked around the library trying to find the place where the scroll she took was. Shaking her head slightly to keep herself awake, she continued farther into the library, until she found what she was looking for. A small smile went on her face as the scroll settled into where it needed to be, but she needed to leave, so she couldn't really look for any other scroll at the moment. It wasn't what she wanted to do, but it needed to happen. The library was almost like a second home to her after all.

Giving a small sigh, the small girl walked towards the exit of the library, but before she could even take a step outside, she ran face first into some kind of barrier. Scrunching her eyes and holding her nose, Nikkou backed up a bit as started to reach h hand up to the entrance. Sure enough, the hand she held up ran into the something in the doorway. Her eyes ended up widening before she precedent her hand a bit harder, but stopped when nothing happened.

Giving a frown towards predicament she was in, Nikkou tapped on the invisible barrier, which caused a hollow sound to echo around her. Giving a small sigh, seeing that she couldn't get out that, she backed up a bit more, before stopping when she heard the sound of a metal of some kind chinking on her chest.

Looking towards the source, Nikkou frozen when she saw a a chain of some sort coming from her chest. She didn't know what it was, but the fact of the matter was, the chain wasn't harming her. It wasn't even doing anything besides hanging from her chest a hand in curiosity, the small child touched the chain, but did nothing else. When her fingers connected with the chain, a jolt ran through her body, causing her eyes to widen at the almost, dark, feeling it gave her.

Shivering and taking her hand away from it, she knew right there from intuition that the chain should never be allowed to fall of. She didn't know hardly anything when it came to the chain, but she just got a terrible feeling from it. She didn't even know if she was alive or dead, but considering she remembered a flash of silver, it was probably the samurai's sword. Either way, there was a lot that made sense to her if she was dead, barriers included.

She remembered hearing about a family me,bet saying that ghosts are attested to spiritually high places, or a place of importance. If she was dead, then the library was definitely important to her. The fact she was still around, that meant she hadn't let go of something, and that confused her. She didn't have any friends, and her family was indifferent towards her. What could be holding her back?

Sure she loved the stories, and other things that were in the library, but she wasn't attached to the building to the point she would stay. In fact, she didn't think to much of things she read except for the fact that she thought the idea of a fairy tail to be nice, been if the harsh reality of the world was different.

Giving a sigh, the girl decided to walk into the building further, before settling in the back quickly closing her eyes as to try and get some sleep.

A week later, Nikkou was getting bored. She had read everything in the library already, including some about the human body. She actually learned a lot from those scrolls. While she didn't know a lot about the human body, she learned enough that she could also say she wanted to try and help people wherever she went after she died.

A loud scream, which was followed by a thud was heard near her, as she set another thing she was reading, third time for this one, and looked to see a small guy with a black uniform of some sort. If she were to be serious, the guy in front of her looked like he was a ronin of some kind, not to mention that he had a katana on his hip.

"Ooohhh~... Taichō will be mad if I mess up again! I need to find a plus before they turn!" The boy-like figure stated with a groan "Now if I could only figure out where I was..."

Nikkou tilted her head at the boy, before she softly said "You're in southern Karakura. Specifically the library."

"Ah, thank you chibi-chan." The boy said while looking at her, before turning away for a second, before freezing and turning back towards Nikkou in a whirl "You're a plus!"

Nikkou froze as well, taking a step back as the figure pulled his sword out of its sheath. In an instant Nikkou was a more feet away, and a chair was sent sailing at the boy. Said boy yelled, as he dodged the flying object, before he said "Wait! Please don't run! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm a Shinigami, I'm supposed to help you pass on!"

"...with a sword?" The girl bluntly asked while warily looking at the blade with apprehension.

The so called Shinigami laughed a bit in nervousness as he said "I wasn't the one who decided to use our Zanpakuto as a Konso. I'm serious though I just need to press my hilt to your head, and everything she should be fine."

Not being trusting by nature, the girl didn't move even after that explination, which caused the black wearing boy to sigh deeply. Walking towards the girl, he yelped as yet another chair was sent flying at him, to which he dodged once again. The piece of wood char shed into the wall behind the Shinigami, which caused one of the legs to bounce off and hit the guy in the back of the head. Surprisingly enough, that caused him to fall head first into the floor, effectively knocking him out.

Silence reigned for a few seconds, before Nikkou started to walk towards the guy. That was an incredibly lucky throw on her part. While a ghost it seemed things were lighter to her then normal, which made picking up a wood chair easy. She wouldn't have been able to do that while alive, but it was still effective. It knocked this 'Shinigami' out after all.

After staring at the prone form of the Shinigami for a few minutes, Nikkou walked up to him, and began to poke him in the head. The first poke didn't get a response, so she tried again. She continued this for a good half a minute, before loosing interesting and looking at the sword he had with him. Picking the sword, he called it a Zanpakuto, Nikkou started to turn it until the hilt was pointed towards her. She couldn't see anything on the flat surface, but that didn't really mean anything.

Maoving away from the Shinigami boy, the black haired girl continued to shift the sword in her grip as she stared at its rather bland design. The thing was a simple Tachi style blade, roughly the same size as a regular katana, if the scrolls around the library on them were right. It was badly shorter then she was, which made it a bit unwieldy, but not to much.

The small girl, held the blade for another second, before she lifted it with one hand, a completely serious look on her face. Her left hand clenched into a fist, as she placed it on her hip, and she held the sword straight up as if she had just pulled it from a stone. In all, she felt weird doing that, but it caused a small giggle to escape. She made to lower the blade, but it slipped out of her hands, and caused the but end of the hilt to connect with her head.

Nikkou's eyes suddenly went blank as her arms dropped to the side, and a mark appeared on her forehead, glowing. The girl curled up into a ball, as her body started to glow as well. If anyone where to have watched it, they would have seen the girl disappear in an instead, leaving behind a simple black butterfly, which flew up into the sky, disappearing.

* * *

 **Bum bum bum!**

 **Well, not really, but still. I don't have any questions for ya, so just let me know what you though of is chapter!**


	2. 2: A new place

**So, considering this is the second revised chapter, I hope people enjoy this story actually. It's kind of hard to get people to honestly tell you what they think, so I do hope I get enough response out of this. The beginning of the story was completely different this time so I actually hope that made it different, and interesting in this case. Either way though, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. It's a bit shorter then the last one, but they will get longer as the story progresses.**

* * *

 _I don't won bleach of any of its characters. All OC's, but a few, are mine, and all characters belong to their owners, and not me._

* * *

When Nikkou woke up, she felt grabby, but also, oddly enough, warm. She could feel that she was laying on something or another, but she didn't know exactly what it was that she was on. Struggling to open her eyes, the black haired girl did her best not to squeeze them shut as a beam of light went into her eyes. The lit caused her to be link as she sat up, before she looked around the room.

The room she was currently in was like a small shed near one of the local farmers she knew had. The only difference was the fact that the shed looked like it was rundown slightly. There was also the straw that covered the floor of the shed in a sporadic way. While it was comfortable to lay on, Nikkou had no dilutions that it would be fine for her to stay in the shed. She knew how farmers got when they found people in their stocks of supplies, whether that be food, or straw like she was currently laying on.

Looking around the room, the small girl saw that there was a window not to far from the floor on the opposite side of the shed. The window let streams of light fall into the room gently, and it light the rest of the shed up. Nikkou took the sight in for a few seconds, before she stood up and ran over to the window.

Frowning for a second, the girl, jumped and managed to get a hold of the windowsill. The effort it took her to pull herself up and onto the window though, was a lot more then she expected. She was never a physically active person, and considering she had a sickly body most of the time, when she got up, her breathing was heavy, yet it didn't stop her.

As Nikkou was getting ready to jump down after she caught her breath, the door to the shed opened, to where several men walked into the room. Unfortunately, Nikkou had been spotted, which caused the lead guy to yell about a thief. Not taking any chances with the people in front of her, the small girl jumped down, before she took off.

The streets of the place she was currently in was completely unfamiliar, yet at the same time, it was familiar. The buildings were run down slightly in most places, and the streets were muddy. An image of her home town popped into her head, yet she couldn't seem to remember the name of the place.

Getting herself out of her thoughts quickly, Nikkou turned a corner quickly, the men from the shed chasing her. Considering her small frame though, she easily out maneuvered them by weaving through the crowds as to quickly hide behind a fence that was near her when she turned once again. The sound of footsteps was heard as she pressed herself to the fence, her heart pounding at the fact that she could quite easily get caught. If she was caught, that was it for her.

Thankfully she didn't hear anything else as she stayed where she was for a good minute, a breath of relief leaving her as she peaked out from behind the fence to see no one there. Hesitantly moving out, the small girl put a palm to her chest as to try and calm her heart beat, before she slid down the fence to sit on the ground. She had no clue where she was, but the fact of the matter was that she needed to be careful. Those men thought she was a theif just when she was trying to leave without trouble.

Nikkou quickly got rid of any negative thoughts, as she looked around the place she was. There were trees around the small village she was in, and it even looked peaceful, but at the same time it was foreign. She didn't recognize the place she was in, building style not included, and it made her scared. Being lost was something she had never had happen to her before, so the fact that she was lost was new, and completely unwelcome.

The girl shivered slightly on the ground, as the panic started to kick into her system. The fear started to cause her to silently cry, but she forced herself to hold the tears back. She needed to be strong at the moment, and the only way to do that was to not cry.

Sniffing a bit, Nikkou was about get up and walk away, only for a branch to snap, and her head to snap up towards the sound, black hair flying as she looked towards the person who caused the sound. The owner was a pale woman who had black hair. Her hair was put into a braid of some sort behind her as she knelt down near Nikkou. She wore a torn up kimono that used to look like it was flowery, but now, it was really destroyed. It still kept the woman's modesty, though there were holes here and there in the cloth.

"Who might you be?" The woman asked with a soft look, though that didn't stop Nikkou from backing up a bit.

The main reason for why she wasn't trusting this woman right away was the fact that she was, by all means, an unknown. She could be trying to hurt her just like one men who chased her. Now that she was reminded of that though, she realized just how badly her chest hurt from all the running. It was scary to think that her sickly form carried on to here, as that could mean she could get caught easier.

Moving a hand towards her, and breaking the girls thoughts, the woman tried to help the girl, only to receive a flinch as a result, almost like she expected to get hit. A frown made its way onto the woman's face, as she gently put a hand onto the head of the girl in front of her seeing her stiffen in the process. Giving a gentle look, the woman brought the girl into a hug, as the girl shivered a bit.

"Shh... It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you young one." The woman said with a soft tone, her skinny frame easily enveloping the girl in a protective way "I don't know who you are, but no child should need to be afraid of an adult."

Nikkou's shaking started to subside as the woman who was hugging her gave her comforting words. She had no clue who this was, but she was being nicer to her then anyone in her real family had been. Her mother would have said not to trust strangers, but there wasn't any hint that the woman who was hugging her was lying. Her instincts on people lying were usually very good, so the girl was hesitant to let go of the woman now.

Backing away from the girl though, the woman gave a small smile as she looked at the girl in front of her "My name is Hitomi. What's yours little one?"

"...Nikkou..." The girl said with a hesitant tone, though Hitomi just giggled a bit at the soft voice. Introverted children, while rare, we're not that difficult to be around.

Giving a smile towards the girl, while rubbing her black hair, Hitomi said "Well Nikkou-chan, I don't know about you, but I'd like to get out of the cold street now hm? You must be tired, so I believe it would be a good thing for you to get some sleep.

Nikkou mumbled out an agreement, as she started to stand up, using the older woman's frame to help herself stand. The black haired girls green eyes darted up to the woman who she was holding onto, as her warm Amber eyes looked at her softly. Looking down after a few seconds, Nikkou's hand drifted and finally ended up gripping a part of the dirty kimono that would make it so she would be following the woman from behind.

A laugh sounded out from the woman, as she stood up and started to walk, Nikkou following after her while looking at the ground. The whole time Nikkou's thoughts drifted to the place she was in. It wasn't that different, but at the same time, it was, if that even made sense.

She had woken up in a barn of all things in a bunch of hay. She had no clue where she was at that point, but before she knew it she was running away from a group of men as they tried to kill her, or something like that for 'stealing'. She had seen looks like they had on before, and she knew that she needed to get away.

Then there was the woman she was clinging to. She was so full of warmth, and kindness, somthing Nikkou wasn't used to honestly. Her mother had always kept her in the back, so she didn't see her parents much. The only actually kindness she received was the from the local blind man in the village. Everyone else gave her a sort of annoyed indifference.

Moving her head up, and not even bothering to move her hair out of her face, she looked around the area she was in to see that it was more run down then she initially expected. Some of the buildings had holes in their rice paper Windows, and there were some that didn't even have Windows. She heard some yelling, along with shattering glass from another, which made her wince.

That was not something she liked to head. Drunk 'customers' often threw bottles. She was lucky to have not been hit by any of them.

Turning her head to the other side, Nikkou quickly looked away as she saw a woman doing something she had seen her mother doing to a guy at one point. She didn't know what it was, but the fact was, it was something an adult did so she didn't need to pay that any attention.

Nikkou looked up towards Hitomi and the black haired child saw a disapproving look on her face looking in the direction that the man and woman were. So she was right about it. That wasn't something that a woman should be doing in a place where kids could see, or even at all. She was hesitant to ask what it was, but curiosity outweighed fear this time as she tugged on the kimono of the woman she was following.

"...what are they doing...?" Nikkou asked while pointing in the two adults direction, though she refused to look that way.

Hitomi's eyes widened at the question, before her eyes narrowed at the two adults. Cleaning her throat, she started walking a bit faster as she said to the child "I'll tell you when your older Nikkou-chan."

Nikkou gave a dissatisfied tone, but dropped it. If she didn't want to tell her, she would just have to ask when she was older. Maybe when she was of marriageable age, whatever that was.

As the two continued forward, they eventually stopped in front of a small wooden hut. It wasn't run down like the other buildings, but it was almost half the size in comparison. Whatever the case though, Nikkou that it was kind of nice. She didn't have all that much before she ended up here, so not having a lot was not something she really cared about in all consideration.

Letting go of Hitomi's hand, Nikkou tilted her head as she opened the door slightly to see a single room encompassing the whole inside of the building. In the process, she started to search the building, though it didn't have much more then a single bed.

Nikkou looked back towards the door as she saw Hitomi looking at her with a sort of amused smile. For whatever reason, the girls cheeks started to heat up from embarrassment, as she quietly walked back to the amber eyed woman, and stood behind her like she was hiding. To anyone looking at her it would have been kind of cute even, and that was exactly what it was to Hitomi as well.

"Well, here we are." Hitomi said with a bright tone "It's not a lot, but it's home. I hope you like it just as much as I do Nikkou-chan."

Nikkou ducked her head a bit to hide the embarrassment, as she mumbled out "...arigato Hitomi-san..."

A laugh was heard from the woman as she knelt down to Nikkou's level "Hey now. Call me Hitomi-chan! I mean, I'm giving you the same curtesy aren't I?"

Normally that type of sentence would scare Nikkou, but with the smile Hitomi had, it caused a ghost like smile to appear on the girls face as she mumbled "...Hitomi-chan..."

A bigger smile made its way onto Hitomi's face as she laughed gently "There you go Nikkou-chan. Now, would you like to do anything before we go to bed?"

Nikkou shook her head, which caused a smile to appear on Hitomi's face. Giving a gentle kiss to the girls forehead, despite the hair in the way, Hitomi moved a second futon she had folded up in the corner onto the ground as she moved the first one over. The second bed was a bit nicer then the first, but even then, Nikkou made her way towards the first, only to have a hand stop her.

Looking up towards Hitomi, the Amber eyed woman motioned towards the second bed "That ones yours now Nikkou-chan. I've slept in this one for years now, I can't very well have you sleep in that one. This one was for the occasional guest I received."

The girl made out to protest, but the woman gained a stubborn look as she made sure it was seen that she would vehemently argue with the girl. Childish, yes, but it was what the woman wanted.

Nikkou hesitated a bit, before she walked over to the other futon and laid down in it, giving a small goodnight to the woman who had comforted her. Despite this though, the girl still couldn't get herself to fall sleep. Something was keeping her up, and it was something that she didn't understand.

After a few minutes of silence, Nikkou heard Hitomi get out of her bed, and go over to something while whispering some words as well. The black haired girl couldn't hear everything, but the words 'I'm sorry' 'Please forgive me' and the name 'Hinata' were repeated a couple of times, but Nikkou didn't say anything.

She realized quickly that she was intruding on something that she shouldn't be, to where she quickly closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

She wasn't the only one who didn't wish to talk about her past, and that was something the black haired girl could appreciate if nothing else.

* * *

 **So, how was this chapter? I hope you enjoyed it, as this one was a bit dreary in my own opinion. The writer though doesn't know the opinions of her readers, so make sure you let her (me) know what you think aye? I take everything in stride, and I actually could use ideas if you want to give them. Nothing is a problem, though I will ignore flames. If you don't like this story, why are you here?**

 **No questions this time either, but there will be some next chapter ok?**


	3. 3: New friends

Shortest chapter I've made so far, but honestly? It's fine that way. I finally updated, and I'm sorry it took so long. Before you go any farther though, I want to comment that if you go right here, then you should go back as there are other chapters you need to read. I revised everything from the basis, which means everything is completely new. I'm changing things as I see fit, so make sure you know that yeah?

Moving on, I'm not going to comment on the reviews I did receive, as that will be for next chapter. I also hope that DARC and her sisters Smultronstullet and XxfreelancerxX appreciate what I'm doing in is chapter as I thought about it for awhile, and decided to do it and see your reactions. You guys gave me OC's, so I dedicate this chapter to you guys at least for that.

I don't own anything! OC's are mine, but three of them you meet here.

A couple of years later, which in this case literally meant two years. Nikkou, to Hitomi's constant annoyance, was still as reserved as always. While the Amber eyed woman was as outgoing as ever, the green eyed girl still only said sentences with at most five words before she fell silent. It had annoyed the woman that no mater what she did, Nikkou refused to talk any more then she did.

Eventually, Hitomi gave up on trying to get the girl to break out of her sheep, but that didn't stop the woman from talking with the child as much as possible. The fact that Nikkou was 8 age wise, but she had only grown an inch, frequently came up, but Hitomi, thankfully, explained.

Apparently since she died, souls age at a much slower rate then humans. Some of the older souls had been around for a good hundred years or more. Despite that, the souls she spoke of didn't look to be more then in there twenties, or thirties at most. If not for the fact that she should gave grown more then she did, Nikkou wouldn't have believed Hitomi.

Then there were there were the Shinigami that Hitomi spoke of. The woman never spoke of them outside of the house due to the fact that a lot of souls were scared of them for one reason or another. Hitomi herself though was not afraid of them. Instead she spoke of them in reverence, almost as if she wanted to be one.

When Nikkou asked that, Hitomi blushed a bit, and shook her head while saying "It's something you'll understand when your older."

The black haired girl dropped it after that, before Hitomi explained the Shinigami as best she could. It was fairly interesting as well, at least in Nikkou's opinion.

From what Hitomi said, the Shinigami were peace keepers that helped to keep things safe for the souls outside of their home. Many would argue that, but to her, they had saved her life a couple of times before. The fact that they wore a black Shihakusho that had a white obi made Nikkou curious, but it was the fact that they had swords that had a spirit of its own that really interested Nikkou.

The girl had always been fascinated with the idea of life and death. They were two sides of the same coin, but now that she thought about it, life would be considered the darker side, while death was the lighter side. Life was cruel, and short, while death, from what she could see, was much nicer, in a few senses, and most souls were carefree even. Light and darkness were similar in a sense.

With light and darkness, you couldn't have one without the other. Shadows wouldn't exist without the light shining down, and light wouldn't be considered as such, without the shadows that it created. Many consider light to be good, while darkness was to be feared. To a small girl, who for the last two years grew mentally, they were both equal. Those who bathed in the light, could just as easily have a dark center, while those in the darkness, are not inherently evil. Nikkou explained it in a way that was more childish of course, but that was what she meant none the less.

As her thoughts went back to the Shinigami. There was no way she would be able to join now even if she wanted to, but now that she knew what they were, they interested her to no end, as she tried to get everything she could to get more out of Hitomi. The woman, Unfortunately, didn't know a lot, but she was willing to indulge in Nikkou's interest. Sure, the girl still didn't talk in sentences with more then five words, but she still was a lot more talkative on topics she wanted to know about.

Getting out of her train of thought, Nikkou looked around the small building she was in before, she decided to walk outside of the building and just look around in general. The Rukongai, as she found out the place was called, wasn't the worst place in the world, but it wasn't the best obviously. She was in district, 51 if that was right? And she didn't know a lot of things, but considering how she grew up while alive, she wasn't stupid.

Looking around at the dirty and muddy road the district had, it was interesting to think just how many people took care of each other though. This place was not the richest district, but everyone took care of each other when they needed to.

Nikkou was knocked out of her thought pattern when she felt someone run into her. The black girl, however, quickly grabbed their wrist before they could walk off with the small charm Hitomi had gotten her at one point, and slammed them face first into the ground. The yell of surprise, and pain, caused others to look towards them, seeing the black haired girl forcing a boy of similar size on the ground.

"Hey! Get off of me!" The boy under Nikkou yelled, though the girl didn't move.

Keeping his arm in place, Nikkou's frowned, her messy black hair having a few strands in her face, as she said "...Don't steal..."

"I didn't take anything!" The boy yelled once again, struggling, but it proved useless as pain flew up his arm as he struggled.

Nikkou moved her other hand and grabbed the small charm that the boy had stolen, or tried to, before she looked up to see a small dirty blonde boy, and girl with light brown hair. Nikkou didn't look at them to much, as she got off of the boy, after making sure to keep a tight hand around the trinket in her hands.

The girl was the first to say anything, as she frowned and asked "Why were you on top of my brother?"

"...He took my charm..." Nikkou stated as she help up the small trinket.

The charm was a small metal object that couldn't be any larger then a fingernail, but it was in the shape of a small moon. The metal was beat up, and had no shine to it, but even then, it could easily be said to have been made of a worthless type of metal. The fact that she took the boy down though showed she cared for the object more then her own safety. There was no way that she could have none if he was alone or not.

Looking at the charm a bit longer, the girl sighed deeply through her nose in exasperation, before she looked towards the boy "Takuya, say your sorry to the girl."

"I'm sorry." The boy, Takuya, said, though he obviously didn't like to.

Looking a bit closer at three in front of her, Nikkou took in the boy she had pinned. Despite the baby fat on his face, she could see the angular chin, and cheekbones the boy had. His hair, at the moment, was messy and filled with dust, but it was a darker shade of brown then his sister had. His eyes were a green color a few shades darker then Nikkou's own, but just as sharp, hidden intelligence reflecting off them.

Looking towards the girl, Nikkou gave an even look as she looked towards the brown haired girl. Her hair was shoulder length, showing the start of either a practical person, or a tomboy, with the start of a heart shaped head, though a bit of baby fat still clung to her cheeks. Her sea-green eyes were analyzing Nikkou just as the black haired girl did the same to her.

The last person, surprisingly enough, was asleep at the moment. His hair was ash blonde now that she looked closer, the dirty blonde coming from some dirt in his hair. His face was round chubby, giving the impression that he was, at the moment, the youngest of the three, and in all, she though he looked almost like a baby cow.

Looking back towards the boy, Takuya, Nikkou gave a simple nod as she said "...forgiven..."

The girl gave a simple nod, before she nudged the sleepy boy awake, causing half lidded light green eyes to open, unfocused for a second, before he looked up towards his sister. Seeing as how she was awake, the girl turned back towards Nikkou, before saying "Again, sorry for the trouble my brother caused."

The girl made to leave, but Nikkou walked towards them, a curious look in her Emerald eyes "...what's your name...?"

The girl frowned a bit, obviously not wanting to say anything, but a glance towards the ash blonde boy after he tugged on her sleeve stopped her completely. The two siblings stared at each other for a few seconds before the girl sighed, and turned to Nikkou. It was obvious she still didn't know what to think of Nikkou, but she wasn't going to be harsh on her judgment wise.

"I'm Akemi." The girl said with a slightly harsh tone, but even then, it showed her hesitance as well, almost like she expected the girl to attack her brothers.

Giving a hesitant smile, Nikkou quietly said "...I'm Nikkou..."

"Nikkou!" A loud, feminine voice yelled out, which caused the four children to look towards the voice and see Hitomi running towards the small girl, a slightly relieved look on her face. Reaching the small girl, the Amber eyed woman sighed in relief, as she knelt down to Nikkou's level, an exasperated look on her face.

Smiling a bit, Hitomi said "Thank goodness I found you. I was afraid you had ran off." She paused as she saw the other children, a slightly surprised expression appearing on her face "Ah, and who might you three be? Are you friends with Nikkou-chan?"

The ash blonde boy let out a cute little giggle as he said in a half awake tone "Nikkou-chan is so bright..."

Before anyone could react, the ash blonde boy ended up falling asleep once again, his mouth open slightly, as he teetered into his sister. The girl, in turn, gave a roll of her eyes as she prodded the small boy, waking him up, a bleary eyed expression appearing once again. Hitomi, in turn, laughed a bit at the boy, a smile appearing on her face.

"Your brother is very cute." Hitomi said with a soft smile on her face "Shay are your names children? I'm Hitomi. You've already met Nikkou-chan of course."

Akemi seemed to hesitantly speak out this time as she said "I'm Akemi. These are my brothers Takuya and Ayumu."

"...A moo moo..." Nikkou quietly said, a small childish giggle coming from her in the process, that actually caused the oldest child in the group to smile a bit, and Takuya gave a grin, and a small snicker.

Hitomi laughed a bit as well as she said "Little Ayumu-kun does look a little like a baby calf doesn't he? A moo moo does him justice I think. What do you two say? Amumu sound like a nice nickname for your little brother?"

Takuya gave a grin as he nodded quickly "Yeah! Ayumu is always trying to sleep. He's a bit like a, uh, what are those really lazy animals again Onee-chan?"

"Sloth?" Akemi asked the small boy getting an amused smile from her, and a happy one from him.

Nodding happily, Takuya continued "Yeah! He's like a little sloth!"

"Well, I think your little sloth needs to get home hm?" Hitomi asked with a smile on her face, her Amber eyes showing warmth in them "I need to take my little Nikkou-chan back as well. I might not get hungry, but little Nikkou-chan does."

Akemi gave a smile, as she took both her brothers hands in her own "Nh. Me and my brothers get hungry as well, so we understand."

"I see." Hitomi said with a smile "You three must get yourselves into all kinds of trouble then. Either way though, don't be strangers if you see my little Nikkou-chan again ok? She needs to break out of her shell in opinion."

Nikkou let out a little whine of embarrassment, her cheeks coloring red "...Hitomi-chan..."

"Oh don't be like that." Hitomi said with a roll of her eyes "You and I both know it's true, you just refuse to admit it!"

"...Hitomi-chan...!" Nikkou whined again, her face turning red, and all of the (Awake) siblings laughed as well causing her face to heat up once again.

The siblings bid farewell to Nikkou, as Hitomi lead the small girl away. The whole time no one noticed the smile that appeared on the little black girls face as she clung to Hitomi.

So, what did you guys think of this chapter? This one was. Lot of fun for me to write, and the scene between Hitomi, the siblings and Nikkou made it so I couldn't stop smiling. I looked like a loony in the middle of my study hall so I hope it was worth it for you guys!

Questions

1: what is your opinion in the new revised version of this story (for those who have read this before)

2: What is your opinion on Hitomi?

3: Did you like how the siblings were portrayed?

4: should I skip over a bunch of time, or should I go over some for filler?

5: What did you think of this chapter?

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to studying for finals. Don't expect anything new until a few weeks from now.


End file.
